Jharii's Tomorrow
by bluebellcat
Summary: What if Eep agreed with Grug about how the Croods lived but her younger sister Jharii did not. Eep is 17 and Jharii is 16(OC) Rated T just in case
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own the Croods or the characters except Jharii she is mine.

I got this idea after I read WarriorCATZprincessK story - always be afraid

"Why do we always stay in the cave and only go out to get food, there must be more to life than this" Jharii said with longing in her voice to her older sister Eep as they walked to the back of the cave to join the rest of their family.

"We stay in the cave because it's safe, outside is dangerous especially for you since you're not as strong as the rest of us" Eep spoke with what she thought was a caring tone but all Jharii heard was her older sister talking too her like she was a four year old. Jharii knew her sister and family loved her and wanted her to be safe, but she wasn't happy with how things were, she wanted freedom to do what she wanted and live how she wanted. She looked down not wanting to see the look of sadness on Eep's face; Eep got that look every time she talked life outside the cave. Jharii heard Eep sigh and continue walking towards their family but Jharii stopped not wanting to see her family at the moment. She knew she would be reminded that she wasn't like the rest of them.

She was taller, skinnier, her forehead didn't slope and she wasn't as strong, whereas they had darker eyes she had light blue eyes, she had auburn hair that hung just below her shoulder blades which she tied into a pony at the nape of her neck with a small strip of fur. The only thing she had in common with them was the pale skin they shared. Jharii walked back to the mouth of the cave which was covered by a massive boulder to keep out the dangers of the world. She sat down next to it and started to play with the edge of her dress, which was almost exactly like Eep's but instead of tiger fur hers was Black Panther fur. It was still dark outside the cave; Jharii knew as there were gaps around the boulder and during the day light shone through them. She eventually stood and slowly walked to the back of the cave and joined the rest of her family who were listening to Grug tell another story where the ending lowered everyone's morale and made Thunk promise he would never do anything new or different. She barely listened to her father's stories, she usually thought about what life would be like if she didn't live in the cave.

After the story the rest of her family huddled up to sleep but Jharii stayed where she was and laid down missing the look on Grug's face when he looked her way.

The Next Day

Jharii watched her family leave the cave to try and find breakfast; she always had to stay behind because they all thought she would either just get in the way or get hurt. Grug always pushes the boulder in front of the cave to ensure that she wouldn't be attacked by anything, but what her family didn't know was that once she knew they were out of sight she would slip through the gaps around the boulder and start climbing the cliffs around the cave. She knew that she shouldn't but she loved being outside and feeling the heat from the sun, it was refreshing after being stuck in the cave for so long.

'I have most of the day to enjoy being outside and by myself, May as well head to my favourite spot' Jharii thought as she made her way up the cliffs. She was a fast climber compared to her family because she was much lighter than they were; it was an advantage she had always loved. It allowed her to reach her favourite spot in no time. Her favourite spot was a small area where she could lay down in the sun and it was surround by rocks so it offered some protection from creatures and sometimes her family. The other reason she loved the spot was that the ground was covered in grass and there were some bushes with edible berries, she didn't know how it was possible for grass and the bushes to grow but she didn't complain. She sat in the middle of the small are and thought about her family as the sun warmed her, she knew they wouldn't be back until it was almost dark because they had to travel so far to find food and it was never a lot but Grug wouldn't listen to her about the berries even though there was enough for the family until they went to look for more food, just because it was new and different to him.

Jharii stayed in her favourite spot for a few more before she decided it was time to head back to the family cave.

'Better head back now, don't want to be caught outside the cave by myself' Jharii thought sadly as she started to climb down the cliffs. As she was climbing down she heard what sounded like someone talking, she stopped climbing and tried to pinpoint where the noise was coming from but before she could the noise stopped.

'That was creepy' she thought as she resumed climbing down. Once she reached the ground Jharii sprinted towards the cave, not because she could see her family in the distance, she just felt like sprinting. She squeezed through the largest gap around the boulder into the families cave and walked to the back and sat down. She sat quietly for about an hour before her family was back, Grug pushed the rock out of the way and ushered the rest of the family through the mouth of the cave, and Ugga and Eep were each holding a Ramu egg. Jharii pretended to be happy as the eggs were cracked open and shared around, she didn't have much as she snacked on berries earlier in the day. Jharii desperately wanted to tell Eep about what she heard previously in the day but she knew she would be in so much trouble because she went outside by herself and she would never be left alone again.

When it was time for the family to get some rest all Jharii would think about was what she heard earlier in the day and what it would be like to actually explore and have fun and not live in a cave. Her final thought was before falling asleep was 'I wish I knew what that noise was'.

**Please Review and Constructive criticism is welcome. **


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own the Croods or the characters except Jharii, she is mine.

Jharii woke slowly the next day to light shining into the cave around the boulder. She sat up slowly and looked around at her family still huddled up sleeping; Sandy was holding crispy bear and kicking Thunk in the head. Jharii giggled quietly at that and lay down again to wait for her family to wake up. While she waited she thought again about what the noise from the previous day could have been.

'I've been climbing the cliffs since I was a little girl but I have never heard anything like that. It sounded like someone talking but that's impossible, we are the only family left around here' Jharii sighed and continued to think about what could have made that noise, but before she could be lost in her thoughts Grug woke up. He yawned that loudly it woke the rest of the family up, Ugga stated groggily that it was bath day, Gran complained like usual. After everyone had the dirt hit off of them with a gnarled stick, Grug told a story which Jharii again did not listen to. It was usually because she was thinking about a more a more fun life but this time it was because she couldn't stop thinking about that mysterious noise.

The day was spent like all the others when stuck in the cave, gran complaining about food, Thunk running around with Sandy biting his head. Ugga telling Thunk not to look Sandy in the eyes if he is not ready to challenge her, Grug trying to tell stories but only Eep really listened and Jharii sitting at the back of the cave on a ledge drawing on the walls with dirt using the occasional rock. Jharii did this most days as long as there was enough light shining in through the gaps around the boulder, even when there was light it was only enough to allow everyone to see where they were going. Jharii liked the ledge because none of her family sat up there so she could draw what she wanted without having her father putting a massive handprint over it because it was new or different. Jharii looked at all the things she and drawn over the years and noticed that as she got older they got better, she favourite drawing was of her family outside in the sunshine looking happy.

This had never happened before but she wished it would, it would definitely be better than living in fear and paranoia. Living by her father's rule 'Never not be afraid' was not fun, Jharii had questioned him about it in the past but it had only ended with Grug explaining how dangerous the world was and that fear keeps them alive. Jharii was tempted to ask him again just to interrupt his story, the one he was telling was a particularly sad a demoralising one. She decided not to and just went back to drawing on the walls, she found a small blank spot on the small and dipped her hand in the dirt and rock dust and started a new drawing. Jharii started drawing her favourite spot outside hidden in the cliffs around the cave, as there was only the one colour for the drawing she either left a space or put an extra layer of the dirt and dust mix over whatever she was doing.

Once Jharii had finished she climbed down from the ledge and sat next to Eep to listen to the end of another story about Crispy bear. After a couple more hours of entertaining themselves in the cave the light finally stopped shining around the boulder, this was the signal that it was time for everyone to sleep. That night Jharii slept with the rest her family and didn't miss the happy look Grug's face, she knew he was happy because no matter how old she got he saw her as his little girl and didn't want her to grow up. She loved her father but he needed to realise that she wasn't as little as she used to be and has to grow up sometime. She pushed away all those thoughts and just enjoyed being in the company of her family, after everyone else had drifted to sleep Jharii took one last glance around her at her crazy and paranoid but lovable family then she too drifted to sleep.

Two Days Had Passed

Jharii woke up before everyone else like usual and slowly got up to stretch her legs, she had slept leaning her back against the wall so she was a bit stiff.

'Today is probably going to be a hunting day and if it is I'm going to explore around the cliffs and see if I can find what made that noise three days ago' Jharii thought as she walked around the cave waiting for her family to wake up.

She was right as soon as everyone was wide awake Grug said it was a hunting day. He pushed the boulder out of the way and slowly went outside, the family waited for him to signal that is was safe to come outside. Jharii thought it was a bit odd and confusing that the signal was an animal noise, if there was an animal outside they would want to stay inside the cave. Once Grug gave the signal and everyone but Jharii was outside he pushed the boulder back in front of the cave. After waiting for a short period in time Jharii crawl though the largest gap around the boulder, she looked around to make sure that her family was out of sight and gone before making her way to the base of the cliff she always climbed. As she started to climb up, Jharii tried to figure out where she should look first as there were many places where creatures could hide up in the cliffs. She decided she would head to her favourite spot first then figure out where to go from there.

Jharii soon reached her spot and looked around trying to spot anything that would give her an indication if anything was different or if what had made the noise had been there. From what she could see nothing was different, she walked around in a circle while she decided what she would do.

'Were should I look next, there's the smallish cave, or the other area around here, there the only two places close to this spot that are easy to get too. May as well start by looking at the smaller cave first, it's the most likely place to find anything' Jharii thought as she started going in the direction of the cave. It didn't take long before she was standing in front of the small cave. It was a lot like her family's cave but the mouth of the cave was more jagged, she slowly eased herself into the cave. She made sure that nothing was going to jump out and attack her; once she did that she slowly examined the cave. She found nothing again and decided she would check the other place then head back to the family cave. Jharii climbed around the cliffs till she spotted the other area, it was like her favourite spot but there was much less grass and bushes there. As she looked around Jharii noticed that some of the smaller sticks from the bushes were gathered into a small pile and looked black, and there was black dust around the pile. Jharii didn't know what caused the sticks to look like that but she was determined to find out. Jharii was bending down to look at the pile when she heard a noise behind her, she stood up quickly and stun around too fast. She slipped and fell backwards and hit her head hard on one of the larger rocks found there, before she lost consciousness she saw a blurred shape of what she thought was a warthog leaning over her.

**Please review**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own the Croods or the characters except Jharii, she is mine.

Jharii awoke lying on the grass looking up at the sky that was no longer the light blue but a darker blue with orange and pinks mixed in. She had a thumping headache and she noticed the back of her head was sore but she couldn't remember why. She sat up quickly when she realised how late it was and remembered how she hurt her head, she wished she hadn't moved though it just made her headache worse. Jharii put her head in her hands as she thought back to before she passed out.

'I was bending down to look at some strange looking sticks; I heard a noise behind me so I stood up and turned around. I must have slipped on something; I remember falling and hitting my head hard then a blurry shape leaning over me' She gasped when she realised that the blurry shape was probably what caused the noise a few days ago, she tensed as looked up to see if anyone was around and then relaxed when she couldn't see anything. That's when she realised that her family would be back at the cave and would know she's wasn't there. But before she could get up and leave, Jharii heard someone or something coming.

Instead of trying to get up and leave she moved backwards until her back hit a large rock, she tensed as she waited for whatever it was to reach the grassy area. She waited a couple minutes before she saw anything and what she did see shocked her. It was a teenage boy about Eep's age; he had brown shaggy hair with part of it tied up on the top of his head, he was wearing a type of animal skin around his legs and his feet were covered in an unknown animal's feet. Jharii noticed he kinda looked like her; he was tall, skinny and his forehead didn't slope. She also noticed that skin was slightly darker than her pale skin and on his chest he had stripes painted on. He wasn't paying attention to Jharii at that moment he was more focused on the bundle of sticks he was holding. He looked up and finally noticed Jharii sitting up against the rock, she saw that he had brown eyes which was showing slight confusion then happiness.

"You're awake, sorry to scare you earlier, are you alright" he spoke with a soft and light tone as the bent down to put his bundle of sticks down. As he stood up Jharii saw that the bottom parts of his arms were wrapped up with fur and an unknown plant or animal sinew. She was still shocked about seeing someone else like her that she didn't answer him; luckily he noticed this and calmly waited for her to respond to his question.

"I'm fine, my head hurts a bit but the pains going away slowly" Jharii replied in a bit of a dazed tone when she realised he asked her a question.

"That's good to hear" he said while sitting down across from her. He looked happy and relaxed, Jharii didn't know how to react as she was used to seeing her family slightly happy but never relaxed.

"Who are you and what are you doing here" Jharii finally asked after a few minutes of silence.

"I'm Guy and this is belt" he said while pointing to a small brown and red creature wrapped around his waist "and I'm here because it's the only place in the cliffs that I've found so far that has sticks" he said like it was obvious.

"So what's your name" he asked Jharii while he picked up a few sticks and started putting them in a pile.

"'My name's Jharii" she replied cautiously. She didn't know what to do, she was outside the cave without her family, it was getting darker and she was with a strange boy. Jharii knew her father Grug would look for her but she doubted he would find her, even though she could reach the small places dotted and hidden around the cliffs Grug could not. He simple wasn't as good at traversing the cliffs and his body was too robust to go through the smaller areas. Jharii knew she would have to get back to the family cave before dark, if not she would have to spend the night outside the cave and go back in the morning, if she survived. She also didn't want to worry her family; they already had plenty of problems to be anxious about. Jharii stood up and went to walk around the rock to go back to the cave when Guy stood and caught her arm.

"Where are you going?" Guy asked with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Home" Jharii replied sadly, she didn't really want to go back, she enjoyed being outside and even though she just met him, she felt bad for Guy. The sad look he was giving her making her want to stay with him and keep him company.

"Why don't you stay here, it's getting too dark to traverse the cliffs" Gut pointed out with hope colouring his voice.

Jharii noticed that he was correct, the sky was now a darker blue than before, and all traces of the oranges and pinks that graced the sky earlier were gone.

'If I try to navigate the cliffs now I'm going to get lost or hurt, with my luck it would be both. At least larger animals can't reach here and the smaller ones are easily dealt with' she thought while trying to extract her arm from Guy's grip. She wasn't successful; he was stronger than her and his eyes shone with hope so she gave up.

"Fine" Jharii sighed, inside though she was thrilled, she didn't know why but she wanted to send more time with Guy. Jharii knew Guy was happy that she was staying because he screamed 'Yes' than started jumping around, and because he hadn't released her arm Jharii ended up jumping around with him. Once Guy had calmed down he let go of Jharii's arm and they both sat down, Jharii observed that Guy sat quite close to her. She giggled when she thought of what her father would do if he saw how close they were. Guy either didn't notice or didn't care because he pulled out two rocks and some dry grass. He started hitting the two rocks together over the dry grass, Jharii didn't know what he was doing that for but she didn't interrupted. Jharii noticed little bits of light coming off the rocks when Guy hit them together, he later explained that the little bits of like were what he called sparks.

After a few tries a spark landed on the dry grass and started to smoulder, Guy blew on the smouldering grass then transferred it to the small stick pile. The sticks ignited and Jharii moved back a bit.

"What is that" Jharii said with panic seeping into her voice.

"I call it fire" Guy excitedly said while gesturing wildly at the small fire. Jharii relaxed when she realised Guy wasn't scared, she reached out to touch it but was stopped when Guy grabbed her hand and shook his head. Jharii withdrew her hand but Guy didn't let it go, they looked down at their joined hands and blushed. They quickly let go and looked away, once both of their blushes disappeared they started talking.

"Hey Guy, why are you around here, all the other families that used to live around here are gone, I don't get why you would want to be around here" a confused Jharii asked

"The world is ending" Guy replied without the usual happiness in his voice. "I'm calling it The End" this was said with Guy's normal cheerfulness.

"Dun, dun, dun" this was said by belt in his quite but cute voice.

"How do you know" Jharii asked curiously. "And he can talk" an amazed Jharii said while pointing to belt.

"Yes he can talk and I've seen it, first the grounds going to shake then break apart and everything falls in fire, lava. I don't want to sound dramatic but ahhhhhhhh, ahhhhhhhhhhhh". By now Guy was standing and gesturing wildly and speaking slightly crazily.

"I'm heading to a mountain, it's that way" he pointed behind Jharii.

"Right now it seems to have stopped but it won't stay that way for long, The End never stops" with that he calmed down a bit and sat down next to Jharii again.

"You can come with me" Guy said with hope while looking at Jharii with wide eyes that shone with hope. Jharii thought of what she could see if she went with Guy but the thought of leaving her family troubled her.

"I would love to come with you but my family lives around here and I can't leave them" replied Jharii sadly.

"They can come too" Guy quickly replied, his eyes still shining with hope.

"If you can convince my family to leave the cave and go on this journey then of course I will come with you, but be warned my father Grug won't be easy to convince, he believes we should stay in the family cave and live by never doing any new or different and the rule 'never not be afraid', and to him your new and different" Jharii said miserably. Guy noticed this decided to talk about something different while planning on how to get Grug to agree to join his journey to the mountain before The End started again.

They talked for about an hour about few, the fact that Jharii's family were cave people was the first thing that came up, it shocked Guy because Jharii didn't look like a cave person or cavy as he called then, but he said he could handle that. After that the conversation was about fire and how Guy discovered it, then how he became friends with belt. Jharii wanted to ask about Guy's family but she didn't think it was the right time for that. After that Guy added more sticks to the fire then they both lay down, Jharii thought the sky was beautiful with the many little suns. Guy started to tell a story that didn't end in death, but Jharii didn't hear the ending, she had fallen asleep halfway through it with a smile on her face. Guy smiled at the site of Jharii sleeping then he too fell asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own the Croods or the characters except Jharii, she is mine.

The next day Jharii awoke up lying on soft grass and this startled her because she was meant to be in the Family cave.

'Why am I here, and what happened' Jharii thought as she sat up rubbing her head, it took a minute for her to remember that she had left the cave the previous day and ended up meeting Guy. She looked around and couldn't see him anywhere, she knew he would be back so she decided to lie back down for a while; she just got comfortable and closed her eyes when she heard Guy come back. Guy walked over to Jharii and looked down at her, she opened her eyes when she realised he was looking at her.

"Are you ready to go, it will probably take awhile to convince your family to come with me on the journey to the mountain" Guy said while smiling down at her.

"But I'm comfortable" Jharii whined, she knew she had to get back to the cave but she was really comfortable where she was and she was still sleepy so she wasn't thinking properly. Jharii thought back to the last time she has slept so well and she realised it's been a few years since the last time.

"Come on, get up" Guy said while still smiling. When he saw that she wasn't moving to get up, he bent down and started to poke her arm. When that didn't work he poked her stomach and laughed when Jharii hit his arm away so he couldn't do it again.

"Fine, I'm getting up" Jharii said as she sat up, she looked at Guy and rolled her eyes at him which caused him to laugh again. Jharii honestly didn't want to back to the family cave, she liked being outside and she enjoyed being with Guy. She loved her family dearly but she wanted to live her life not hide in a cave, she was also scared that Grug would attack Guy.

"Are you sure you can handle my father, I don't want him to hurt you" Jharii asked Guy in a small voice.

"I'll be fine, now let's get going" Guy replied in a cheerful tone. Jharii couldn't help but smile at Guy's carefree and cheerful attitude, she finally stood up and walked towards the northern edge of the grassed area. It was the easiest path back to the cave, Jharii looked behind her and told Guy to hurry up.

Guy followed Jharii as she carefully navigated through the dangerous cliff areas and because Jharii knew the Cliffs well they made it back to her families cave before the sun had reached the middle of the sky. Jharii was getting nervous about seeing her family after being gone for the night, they would blame Guy without letting him or Jharii explain what happened. She told Guy to wait where he was and not to go closer to the cave just yet. Jharii slowly approached the mouth of the cave with was covered with the boulder which meant her family was in there.

"I'm back" She called out and waited for less than a minute before the boulder was pushed aside and her whole family rushed out. Jharii was surrounded by her family, Ugga was sniffing her and making sure she was fine, Thunk was standing there looking at his hand, Sandy attached herself to Jharii's leg and Gran was saying that she was still alive.

"Where have you been, we came back to the cave and you were gone" Grug said angrily. None of them had noticed Guy was standing a few feet away from the family and watching the family with longing in his eyes.

"I can help explain that" Guy said happily. Jharii looked over to him horrified, Grug growled as he stepped in front of her and the rest of the family formed what they called the family kill circle around Jharii. Guy took a step back but still looked calm and happy, it was only when Grug started to advance on Guy that he started to look nervous and a little bit scared. Jharii pushed her family out of the way and awkwardly ran in front of Grug; Sandy was still holding onto her leg and was now growling.

"Please don't hurt him" Jharii begged while trying and failing to get Sandy to let go of her leg.

"He is the reason you could have been hurt, he made you leave the cave" was Grug's angry reply.

"But she was" Guy didn't get to finish what he was saying as he was cut off by Grug's angry growl. Guy took another step back and gave Jharii a look that said 'help me'.

Jharii tried to get Grug to listen to her so she could explain but he ignored her and continued to snarl and growl at Guy. After a few minutes of this she decided she would try to convince Grug and her family that Guy saved her.

"He didn't make me leave the cave something else did and he saved me" Jharii almost yelled at her father while looking at Guy. At that Grug stopped growling at Guy and turned around to look at Jharii.

"He saved you from what took you from the cave" Grug asked Jharii.

"Yes, I don't know what took me from the cave but he managed to save me from it" Jharii tried to say as seriously as possible. She felt bad for lying to her family but she didn't want to see Guy hurt. Grug looked relieved but still slightly angry; Jharii thought he was angry because he though wasn't there to protect her.

"From now on you are coming with us when we go hunting so I can make sure nothing happens to you" Grug said calmly while turning around to face Guy again. The look on Grug's face said he didn't know what to do now, Guy was new and different but he 'saved' Jharii. This was when Eep stepped in, she could see that Jharii was lying to protect Guy, she may not have completely trusted him but she could see that her sister liked him and she hadn't seen Jharii that happy inn a long time.

"Hi, thank you for saving my sister" Eep said while looking at her younger sister. Jharii knew she would have to explain to Eep later what had really happened. Guy just smiled and carefully took a step forward and when he saw he wouldn't be attacked he walked towards the family a bit more. This was when Ugga decided to introduce the family to him.

"We're the Croods and you are" Ugga said cheerfully to Guy, she was happy that her daughter was back unharmed.

"Guy and this is belt" was his reply as he pointed to belt.

Jharii finally managed to get Sandy to release her leg but Sandy latched onto her waist instead.

'At least I can walk normally now" she thought as she walked towards her family, Eep went to grab Sandy but she ended up being growled at.

Jharii looked over to Guy and saw him talking to Grug; she assumed he was trying to convince him that The End was going to happen and that they should go with him. Grug didn't look particularly happy but he wasn't angry yet.

The rest of the family went back to the cave and left Guy to talk to Grug alone, Jharii didn't know how that would g but she hoped Guy would be fine afterwards. Jharii sat down near the mouth of the cave and waited, Sandy had fallen asleep by the time Grug come back the cave. The entire family was shocked thought when a nervous Guy followed him in; Grug said nothing as he rolled the boulder over to cover the mouth of the cave.

Jharii knew that her father didn't really trust Guy or believe him about The End but was willing to let him stay with the family, which was shocking considering Grug hated anything new and Guy was new. Guy walked towards her and she saw him relax when he sat down next to her, they quietly talked about what went on outside with him and Grug, which went better then they both expected. Jharii ended up telling Guy that she thought that something was wrong with Grug which he laughed at. Both noticed the looks that Jharii's family were giving them, and with the look Grug gave them they moved slightly further apart, and Jharii laughed because Sandy hadn't woken up.

After a couple of hours Grug told a story then called out sleep pile, he shocked everyone again when he told Guy to join the family. The only thing Grug did was make sure that Jharii wasn't near Guy in the sleep pile. Jharii smiled when she realised things were definitely going to get more interesting in the next few days if Guy was around, Jharii looked at Guy and noticed he was almost asleep and Jharii again thought it was strange that Grug let Guy stay with the family and didn't attack him. Jharii decided she would ask her father the next day about why he didn't hurt Guy and with that thought she allowed herself succumb to sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own the Croods or the characters except Jharii, she is mine.

The next three days were definitely interesting with Guy around, but also embarrassing. Eep had decided she was going to tell Guy all the embarrassing things Jharii did when she was younger. She could barely look at Guy without blushing but Jharii did get Eep back by waiting till she fell asleep then telling Guy all about what Eep did when she was a little girl. So far Eep hadn't found out what Jharii was telling Guy but when she did Jharii she was outside so she could hide. Right now Jharii was leaning against the wall of the cave listening to Guy explain to Grug how he hunts for food, it was taking a long time for him to be able to explain because he kept being interrupted.

Jharii stifled her giggles when Guy was trying to explain what a trap was, it wasn't working out so well so she decided to go over there and distract Grug. Guy looked grateful for the distraction and went to go entertain Sandy who was restless and fidgety. Jharii ended up sitting down and asking her father to tell her a story, he happily obliged, it was like the other stories he told but Jharii could see that Grug was happy that she wanted to hear one of his stories. After he finished his story Jharii stood up and went over to join Guy, Belt Sandy and Ugga, Guy was telling a joke while Sandy held onto Belt. It was good to see Guy being welcomed by the family but Jharii still thought was strange.

She looked around the cave and spotted Eep sitting at the back of the cave so she walked over and sat down. They hadn't had a chance to talk yet about how she and Guy actually met, and with everyone else distracted Jharii thought this would be the perfect time to talk to Eep and spend some time with her older sister.

"Hi Eep" Jharii said happily.

"Hi Jharii, are you going to tell me how you and Guy really met" Eep said getting straight to the point.

"Yes I'm going to tell you, I thought now would be a good time as the rest of the family is distracted" Jharii sighed, she was still smiling thought.

"Good" Eep said smiling back.

"First you can't interrupt me at all when I'm telling you what happened" Jharii stated calmly. When she saw Eep nod she continued.

"I went outside after you left" Eep was about to say something but a look from Jharii stopped her.

"Because I was trying to find out what was making a strange sound, I was climbing around the cliffs when I found an area with weird looking sticks, I heard a noise behind me that happened to be Guy but I slipped and hit my head and woke up later when it was getting darker. I wanted to come back then but he pointed out that it was too dark so we stayed there the night then we both come back the next day because Guy says the world is ending and wants me to go with him to a place where it will be safe but I said I won't go without you and the rest of our family" Jharii said in a rush.

Eep looked shocked for a moment and then realized two things, first was that was what Guy and Grug talked about when they got back to the cave. The second thing was that Guy liked her little sister and she didn't know yet.

"I am angry that you left the cave when we weren't here but you're fine so I'm not going to say anything to the family" Eep said while leaning over and poking Jharii's shoulder. They sat there for while talking about what it's been like having Guy around, how much Sandy has calmed down having Belt around and laughing at Sandy attacking Thunk again. They both laughed even harder when it happened again, he just would not learn not to look Sandy in eyes yet. After they stopped laughing they went to the middle of the cave to join the rest of the family before settling down for the night.

The Next Day

The whole Croods family and Guy left the cave in search of food early in the morning after everyone woke up. They eventually found a Ramu protecting two eggs, it was decided that Thunk and Grug would grab the eggs while Eep distracted the Ramu. Guy and Jharii didn't get to help but they didn't mind they stood there and talked.

"What are they doing" Guy asked as they watched Grug and Thunk try to get the eggs from the Ramu nest.

"Hunting" Jharii replied.

"No seriously, what are they doing" Guy asked seriously. All Jharii did was shake your head and laugh. Grug and Thunk finally managed to get the Ramu eggs from the nest without being attacked by the Ramu tried to distract Eep. Everyone was happy that they that Thunk and Grug got the eggs, Guy was still confused about how they family hunted. Jharii kept laughing at him as they ran back to the cave.

Before everyone had reached the cave though the ground started to shake, because no one was expecting it they got thrown to the ground. Once the shaking had stopped the family slowly stood up and Jharii and Grug both looked at Guy. Before he could say anything the ground started to again but this time a large chunk of cliffs above the family cave cracked and fell, when it hit the top of the cave it collapsed. A massive amount of dust and debris was coming towards the family and Guy so Grug grabbed everyone and turned his back to the oncoming dust. Grug stayed like that protecting the family until he was sure that the oncoming dust and debris had stopped.

The whole family and Guy looked at the ruins of what was once the family cave, Grug walked towards it and picked up two halves of a rock that had a hand print on them. Jharii sadly turned to Guy and asked what they were going to do, The End had started again and he would be there only hope of surviving now.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own the Croods or the characters except Jharii, she is mine.

Jharii slowly made her way towards guy, avoiding the larger bits of debris scattered around where the cave used to be. Grug was still looking at the ruins of the cave and the rest of the family were making their way towards him, Guy was just standing there looking at the family and what used to be there home. Jharii made it too him and shook his arm to get his attention, he noticed that even though Grug protected everyone, they were all covered in dust and dirt. Jharii gently grabbed Guy's arm and lead him towards the ret f her family.

Grug stood up just as the pair reached the rest of the family; they all stood there for a moment before Eep ran to where the back of the cave used to be.

"You really need to see this" she said amazed.

Everyone walked over and saw what Eep was looking at; it looked like a whole new world. There were greens, blues and a multitude of other colours everywhere, it was a beautiful sight and it was behind the cave the entire time, they had to be careful though as they were standing at the edge of a steep cliff. As they were standing there looking at the very different landscape a bear owl quietly snuck up on the family. It roared and everyone spun around in shock, it charged and Grug picked up a medium rock and threw it at the bear owl. It distracted the creature long enough for the family and Guy to run towards the new landscape, they ended up slipping and falling down the steep cliff.

Luckily they all missed the jagged rocks on the cliff as they fell, everyone landed heavily on various plants in the forest below, and Sandy ended up sliding on a mossy rock and landed on Grug's back. Jharii slowly stood up and watched her family rise from the ground; it looked like no one had any serious injuries just some small cuts and bruises. While the family looked around amazed and scared of their new surroundings Guy was looking towards the blue sky which was steadily becoming darker.

Guy knew it would be highly unlikely that they would find and shelter which would mean he would have make a fire to ward away predators. Guy could think of a few problems with doing that, first only Jharii knew about how he creates fire and second Grug only barely tolerates him because he's new, he didn't want to think about how Grug would react to fire.

"I think we should start heading in the direction of the mountain, but it's your decision Grug" Guy said loudly enough to get everyone's attention. Grug looked uncertain as to what to do, they could try to find a new cave and forget that the day never happened or follow Guy's advice and head towards the mountain.

"We are going to the mountain" Grug said loudly, in what he hoped was an encouraging voice. Guy was right about the other stuff so Grug was trusting him enough to get his family to a safe place, he could also see the looks the Guy gave Jharii when she wasn't looking, he may not have liked it because she was his little girl but he was satisfied that Jharii didn't seem to noticed any of it or seem interested in Guy. Grug lead the way through the forest stopping constantly to ensure that it was safe, it did get a bit annoying but no one said anything.

When it become too dark the family and Guy took shelter under an outcropping slab of rock that they found, it wouldn't offer any protection against predators but at least if it rained they wouldn't get wet. Guy contemplated how he would create a fire without the family becoming scared or angry, he decided it would make things easier if he explained what a fire was to the family before he made one. He eventually obtained the families attention then carefully explained what a fire was and what he wanted to do, everyone excluding Jharii had objections but they all eventually agreed that making a fire would keep predators away.

Once he had a small fire going with the random sticks and branches he could find in the dark Guy sat down next to Jharii and decided to get to know her and her family even more. He spent the next hour or two learning more about the Croods, why they live they way they do and what happened to the other families. In turn they asked about him and his family, he was fine answering the questions about himself but said he didn't want to talk about his family.

After that Grug told a story which ended like they usually do, in death. By the end of the story Gran, Sandy and Thunk were asleep; Grug and Ugga lie down next to the three and promptly fell asleep. Jharii and Guy ended up lying down next to each other, they talked for a while about what they think would happen in the coming days and how Jharii's family would cope. Jharii asked Guy how he knew so much about surviving and he explained that he had been living alone for years so it was an important thing for him to learn.

Jharii stared up at the dark sky and watched the many suns shine while Guy was talking, she thought it was a beautiful site and wished she could have enjoyed it more in the past. Once Guy had finished talking he asked Jharii what she thought of the new environment and she was honest when she said she loved it and wished she could live somewhere like that instead of the cave she and her family would end up living in when one was found.

Guy listened to Jharii and couldn't help but notice the longing and sadness in her voice and wished he could give her the life she wanted. After a couple of minutes of silence he looked over and saw that Jharii was asleep and thought that she was adorable when she slept. He rolled over to face her then he let sleep overcome him.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own the Croods or the characters except Jharii, she is mine.

The next morning Guy woke up before anyone else, it was still early if the slowly shifting colours of the sky were anything to go by. Guy wanted to explore the area they were in to see if he could find a faster path towards the mountains. He poked Jharii awoke knowing if he went exploring without her Jharii would be angry and probably wouldn't talk to him again, he didn't want that to happen, he enjoyed being around her.. Guy was right as soon as Jharii woke up and Guy told her what he wanted to do she glared at him until he explained that he wanted her to join him. They both quietly stood up and stretched and slowly snuck away ensuring that they didn't wake any of Jharii's family.

They had walking around and admiring the landscape when they came across a small lake, Guy looked excited and started towards it but Jharii looked hesitant. She slowly and cautiously made her way over to Guy who was standing next to the edge of the lake. Guy was looking at the water's surface with a small smile on his face and a faraway look in his eyes, Jharii thought that he was thinking about his family and didn't want to disturb him. Eventually he noticed that Jharii was standing next to him then got this look in his eyes that made Jharii slightly suspicious about what he was thinking about.

"Jharii can you swim" Guy asked while moving a bit closer to Jharii.

"What?" Jharii replied sounding confused but curious at the same time.

"Have you ever been swimming?" he asked after her reply.

"No, what is swimming" she asked in return to his question.

Guy spent the next ten minutes explaining what swimming was to Jharii and afterwards tried to convince her to let him teach her how to swim. Jharii at first said no but after twenty minutes pestering she said yes, she told him that she said yes just to get him to quite annoying her. He laughed then moved behind Jharii, he then proceeded to push her into the water. She squealed as she fell into the water but started laughing when she surfaced. Guy jumped in after her, for the next couple of hours he taught Jharii to swim; she wasn't very good but eventually got the hang of it.

After a few more minutes swimming in the lake Jharii decided that they should probably head back to where her family was hopefully still asleep. She was hoping that because of how stressful things had been the last few days that her family would sleep most of the day so she could spend uninterrupted time with Guy. She eventually got Guy out of the water and lead the way back to where her family was, and by the position of the sun it was highly unlikely that her family would still be asleep but she stilled hoped they would be.

Jharii was right when they got back to her family Grug was standing there with his arms crossed and looking slightly murderous, the rest of the family especially Eep looked amused. The only thought that went through her head as she walked in front of Guy to her father was 'uh oh'.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Croods or the characters except Jharii she is mine.**

After explaining to Jharii's family that he didn't do anything to her Guy relaxed slightly, he was still scared that Grug would attack him so he didn't relax completely.

"So where did you take my sister Guy" Eep said with a massive grin on her face. She enjoyed watching her sister and Guy try to calmly explain where they went and why they didn't tell anyone.

"I didn't take her anywhere; we just went exploring around here and happened to find a small lake" Guy then explained what a lake was because by the looks no everyone else's faces, they had no idea what he was talking about.

Trying to change the subject, Guy suggested that they start moving towards the mountains again. Grug didn't realise that Guy had said that to distract everyone but Eep did, she could see it in his eyes that Guy knew exactly where the lake was but just said they went exploring because he wanted to spend time with Jharii.

Ugga and Gran could also see that Guy liked Jharii and both knew that Guy would look after her; all they were waiting for was one of the two to say something. Thunk was his normal self and was oblivious to the fact that Guy and Jharii liked each other.

As the odd group started the journey again, Guy decided that as soon as they reached the mountains he would tell Jharii how he felt. Once he thought that he grabbed Jharii's hand and ignored the glare that Grug sent his way.

Jharii was surprised but didn't say a word; she also noticed they were really close to base of the mountains. She was hoping that they would reach the mountains without something going wrong.

After a couple more hours of walking they reached the base of the mountains, the Croods all thought that the sight was amazing as they had never seen anything like it before. Eventually they managed to tear there gaze away from the sight of the mountains and started talking about what they would do.

"We need to find another cave" Grug said loudly.

"I think we need to find somewhere other than a cave to live, everyone's been happier lately than they have ever been" was Ugga's reply to Grug. This got them arguing about what was best for the family, eventually Gran joined in the argument, the younger members of the group moved away.

"What do you think we should do Eep" Jharii asked while listening to argument which kept getting louder.

"I think we should live out in the open, we know how to survive and everyone's happier" replied Eep.

"As long as there is food I don't care" was Trunk's contribution to the conversation.

"I think we should continue heading towards Tomorrow, I think even Grug would be happy there" Guy said while looking up at the mountains, it seemed like he was trying to find a way through or around them.

They continued to talk for a little while before Grug, Ugga and Gran come over. Grug looked angry but wouldn't say anything.

"We have decided that we want to join you in going to Tomorrow Guy" Ugga said while slightly glaring at Grug, daring him to say otherwise. During the journey towards the mountains Ugga had become more independent and didn't just go along with what Grug said.

"Ok, I think I've found a way through the mountains" Guy said with a big grin on his face and pointing towards an area close to them that looked like gap between two large boulders.

Guy walked towards the gap and peered through it.

"It leads to the other side of the mountains" he exclaimed while excitedly waving over the Croods. Grug looked sceptical but seeing his family walk towards Guy he followed, he was just angry that he was no longer the main protector of the family.

They eventually made it to the other side of the mountain, and saw a massive bank of fog across a flat area of ground, in the distance colourful fauna and flora could be seen. But before anyone could say anything, the ground started to shake and a massive slit opened up in the ground to the right of the Croods and Guy.

"RUN" Guy yelled while sprinting forwards, the Croods all ran after him hoping to reach the other side of the side of the area before the slit widened and cut them off.

They only just managed to reach the other side before there was a massive boom and the slit in the ground separated the two places completely.

"WE MADE IT" yelled Jharii while throwing her hands up on the air and laughing, her family looked at her like she was crazy and Guy just laughed.

Jharii and Guy eventually calmed down and noticed that her family had moved away and where looking at some of the new flora around them. They both quickly realised why her family had done that and blushed.

"Well I guess that means that your part of the family now" Jharii said while trying to get her blush to go away.

"I guess It does" Guy replied while smiling, he grabbed her hand and slowly walked towards the rest of their family.


End file.
